April 04, 2008

sleepy tea

Even though this recipe is called "tea", it has the consistency of a smoothie. It comes from my Super Smoothies recipe book that I purchased at a yard sale.

Sleepy Tea

The herb chamomile, used in tea form in this recipe, is a mild relaxant… thus the recipe’s name.

1 ½ c orange segments

2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate (I substituted frozen Cascadian Farm Organic Raspberry Juice Concentrate because that is what I had on hand in my freezer. It gave the smoothie a slight raspberry flavor... yum... and a pretty pink color.)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp honey

2 pinches cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves

1 cup strong-brewed chamomile tea, made into ice cubes and crushed (I substituted “The Republic of Tea” Ginger Peach Longevity Tea that my daughter, Lisa, had given Dick as a gift along with a tea kettle for his birthday.)

I also add 4 tbsp ground flax seed for additional nutrition.

Whiz all ingredients in blender except the crushed tea ice cubes until the mixture is smooth and the honey is dissolved. Add the crushed tea ice cubes and blend until smooth. If you haven’t planned in advance, you can make this recipe without freezing the tea into ice cubes. It just won’t be as thick but still very yummy.

The veggie chips are sweet potato, squash, carrots, green beans, and taro (the French fry-looking sticks in the photo). What is taro, you say? I was perplexed as well. Well, here you go... It is a tropical plant grown primarily as a vegetable for its edible "corm". A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem, with one or more internodes, that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants. Here's a photo of taro.

Comments

Even though this recipe is called "tea", it has the consistency of a smoothie. It comes from my Super Smoothies recipe book that I purchased at a yard sale.

Sleepy Tea

The herb chamomile, used in tea form in this recipe, is a mild relaxant… thus the recipe’s name.

1 ½ c orange segments

2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate (I substituted frozen Cascadian Farm Organic Raspberry Juice Concentrate because that is what I had on hand in my freezer. It gave the smoothie a slight raspberry flavor... yum... and a pretty pink color.)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp honey

2 pinches cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves

1 cup strong-brewed chamomile tea, made into ice cubes and crushed (I substituted “The Republic of Tea” Ginger Peach Longevity Tea that my daughter, Lisa, had given Dick as a gift along with a tea kettle for his birthday.)

I also add 4 tbsp ground flax seed for additional nutrition.

Whiz all ingredients in blender except the crushed tea ice cubes until the mixture is smooth and the honey is dissolved. Add the crushed tea ice cubes and blend until smooth. If you haven’t planned in advance, you can make this recipe without freezing the tea into ice cubes. It just won’t be as thick but still very yummy.

The veggie chips are sweet potato, squash, carrots, green beans, and taro (the French fry-looking sticks in the photo). What is taro, you say? I was perplexed as well. Well, here you go... It is a tropical plant grown primarily as a vegetable for its edible "corm". A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem, with one or more internodes, that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants. Here's a photo of taro.